Special Commissioner Police, Special Cell, H.G.S. Dhaliwal, said the apprehended accused were important nodes of the joint terror network of Pakistan-based Khalistani terrorist Harvinder Singh alias Rinda and Canada-based gangster turned terrorist, Lakhbir Singh Landa.
The arrested accused, Arshdeep, was wanted in the IED recovery case of Shahabad, Kurukshetra and IED recovery case of police station Sirhali in Punjab’s Tarn Taran.
The official said the juvenile was also wanted in the murder of a builder, Sanjay Biyani, which took place on April 5 in Nanded city of Maharashtra, and in the murder of gangster Rana Kandowalia, outside a private hospital in Amritsar on August 4.
“The apprehended JCL has also disclosed the task given to him along with absconding Deepak Surakhpur and Monu Dagar (in jail) by Lawrence Bishnoi regarding the elimination of film actor Salman Khan. While the JCL was being handled by Rinda, Arshdeep was being handled by Landa Harike,” the official said.
How they were caught
Dhaliwal said that they had been working to nab the culprits for a long time. They identified people who were providing logistics support to the accused. Finally, both the accused, Arshdeep and the juvenile, were arrested from Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Rocket Launcher attack
On May 9, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at Punjab Police’s Intelligence Headquarters in Mohali. During the course of the investigation, it was established that the attack was a conspiracy of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and local gangsters.
The juvenile held by the Special Cell was also involved in the conspiracy. The police has learnt that the attack was conspired by gangster turned ISI stooge Harvinder Singh alias Rinda.
Another fugitive gangster, Lakhbir Singh Landa had joined hands with Harvinder Singh alias Rinda. They were sharing manpower, logistics and resources. Rinda’s name had already cropped up in the grenade attack at the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) office in Nawanshahr and in the arrest of four suspected Pakistan-linked terrorists in Haryana’s Karnal earlier this year.
Salman Khan murder plot
The official said that the juvenile was involved in the conspiracy along with other accused to carry out an attack on Salman Khan. They couldn’t conduct a recce due to some reasons. Later, the juvenile was asked to kill Rana Kandowalia, a businessman.
Dhaliwal said that they will move a plea before the court with a request to try the juvenile as an adult. The official said that when the juvenile is over 16, the court can decide whether to try him as an adult or not.
IANS